Fragile Illusions
by Whiitewolf
Summary: JJ wakes up one day only to be told that her life as a profiler isn't real, and that she's having a mental break. Some days she wakes up as Agent Jareau. And others, she's in a mental institution. She's not sure which is real. She's not sure what to do. Now she has decisions to make, and sometimes the people you trust betray you.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Well, look at me. Several stories on the go that I haven't updated in ages and I'm starting a new one.

I know this isn't the most original idea, as there have been several movies with the same sort of plot, but here's to hoping I can make it work!

* * *

_Tick, Tock. Tick, Tock_. The seconds dragged on, leaving the profiler feeling very anxious. JJ shifted uncomfortably on the couch. She thought the couch should be soft, maybe even squishy. It should be relaxing. After all, it was a therapy office. But it was neither relaxing nor soothing. It was very much like sitting on a wooden chair and no matter how many times she adjusted, there was no getting comfortable. The room in general was boring, not just the couch. With its plain white walls, and the fact that it only had what was needed… It didn't put you at ease. That was what she expected, to be put at ease or at least see an attempt on the psychologist's part. She'd expected to see a personable room, which was almost home like. But instead, she was here. Though, she doubted the room itself would make much of a difference in how she was feeling.

She hated this. She hated being here. The abundance of certificates on the wall behind Dr. Genoe bothered her more than they should. The ticking of the clock added to her aggravation and she began to tap her foot lightly on the floor. "Feeling a bit more fidgety than normal today?" Dr. Genoe asked, her eyebrows raised as she examined the woman in front of her.

There was no response, not that one was expected.

JJ's eyes darted toward the clock on the wall. There was still another agonizing half hour to go.

"Any way we can cut this short today?" she asked hopefully.

"Jennifer – I don't think that'd be a good idea. We haven't made any progress today. I'd like to at least get to know a little about you in our first session."

"This isn't the first person I've seen die. So why, now, am I forced into seeing a psychologist?"

"Who did you see die?"

"There was a victim that was killed by the murderer in Florida," JJ said, her voice leaving a hint of confusion. That was the main reason she'd been forced into these sessions, so wha else would she be referring to? Even more so, every single time Dr. Genoe started scribbling down notes on her notepad it frustrated her.

"Murderer in Florida? You found out who he was?" Dr. Genoe inquired, glancing at JJ over the top of her glasses.

"My team and I did. Why is this relevant?"

"Because obviously you feel as though you failed the girl by being too slow, like you should have figured it out sooner."

"Actually, I don't feel that way. I wasn't the one that put it together. Reid figured it out, and none of us could have done it faster, if at all. He saw the pattern. I don't blame anyone in this but the killer. Of course I wish things were different, that we had saved that girl, but I wish the entire world was different. I wish our unit didn't need to exist because that would mean there were no more horrific crimes. But we do exist, and what we do saves lives." JJ stopped, allowing herself to catch her breath.

"You're angry, I can see that. I understand that you blame the killer, but is any part of you angry at this Reid?"

"Of course not," JJ snapped. She'd been trying. She knew it wasn't the psychologist's fault she had to be here and that she was doing her best. However, JJ felt like she didn't quite live up to her qualifications and that this was all pointless. There was also the fact she'd said 'this Reid.' As in, she didn't know who he was? As an FBI appointed psychologist, shouldn't she have been aware of who he was? Shouldn't she have some sort of background of the members on her team or at the very least, know their names?

More scribbling. JJ shot another glance at the clock. There was still fifteen minutes left. That was close enough, wasn't it?

"Look, I have a lot of paperwork to do," JJ mumbled, getting off the couch.

"Paperwork? For what?"

"It's part of the job," JJ said, resisting the childish urge to roll her eyes. She should know all this! Even if this was her first session, she should know that part of working at the FBI involved paperwork. In fact, most jobs required paperwork.

"What's your job exactly?"

JJ groaned, and though frustrated, she didn't want to be rude. Sitting back down, she met the psychologist's eyes. Did she actually not know? How could she not? Or was she simply trying to get her talking about her job in hopes of making what she would define as 'progress?' "I'm a profiler. I work in a team in the Behaviour Analysis Unit."

"You study human behaviour to catch serial killers?"

"Yes. We use it to aid in the catching and identification of serial killers, and a variety of other criminals."

"I see," Dr. Genoe said, writing some more notes down.

I see? That was all she had to say.

"Look, I get you have a job to do but I'm afraid I'm cutting this short. I don't feel this is a productive use of my time." JJ blocked out whatever the psychologist tried to say to her and walked out of the office. It wasn't even worth a glance back.

***~ Fragile Illusions ~* **

Sandy Jareau placed her head in her hands. "There's no improvement?"

The man in the white coat shook his head. "I'm sorry to say in the past couple weeks she's been here, there's been no improvement. It appears she's suffering from the delusion that she's an FBI Agent. It's all very real to her. When Dr. Genoe spoke to her, she was convinced she'd been forced into the sessions due to witnessing a victim die."

Ashley bit her lip and reached over to give her mum's hand a squeeze. "It's okay, mum. JJ will get better. She's a fighter." A flicker of guilt appeared on her face as she recalled her suicide attempt that sent her family spiraling in her late teens.

"When can we see her?" Sandy asked.

"You can see her tomorrow, but I think it delicate to hold off on Ashley seeing her."

"Why?" Ashley demanded before her mother could say anything.

"Because in the persona of Agent Jareau, it appears Jennifer thinks Ashley killed herself when she was 11 years old and I think that a very delicate thing to approach."

The silence in the room was broken by the sound of Sandy's sobs. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming, and she was losing hope that she'd ever have her daughter back.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the short, boring intro. But I kind of needed to introduce it this way.

All the fun stuff starts next chapter.

Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Wow, I didn't expect to get so much positive feedback!

Thank you so much for reading guys. I'm really excited about this.

* * *

"What? What on earth are you talking about?" JJ asked softly, though her voice echoed in the stubbornly silent room. The cracking in her voice wasn't missed by anyone. Her eyes scanned everything. No windows. And the only doorway was blocked by two of the workers. It gave her a strange, unsettling feeling. It felt like she was in a prison, she felt trapped. The white walls did nothing to soothe her worries, but instead, magnified them. Colour would have made a huge difference, or even some paintings on the walls...

"Jennifer," Sandy began, reaching to take her daughter's hands.

"No. Is this some joke? I don't understand. What's going on?" JJ demanded, not easily distracted. Why was she here? Why was she surrounded by doctors? And why were they all looking at her in pity? Then she felt the panic. Had something happened to Will? To Henry? To anyone on her team?

The sudden change in JJ's voice caused Sandy to flinch. Her daughter was nearly yelling at her and she didn't know what to do. "No, no honey, it's not a joke. But you're going to get better." It took all her effort to sound convincing, not only for her daughter, but for herself too. She had to remain positive...

"Get better? What do you mean get better?" JJ pulled herself back as far away from her mother as possible. She was sure not to look at her, in worry of seeing the hurt on her face.

"Sweetie, you're very sick. These doctors just want to help you."

"No! I'm not crazy. I'm not sick. I want to speak to Hotch, or Reid or Garcia, or Emily... Or... Or. I want to speak to someone on my team, please." JJ flew up from the chair and was immediately pushed back down by one of the workers. "Don't touch me! I want to speak to them. They'll fix this. I'm not crazy."

Dr. Genoe leaned back and sighed. After her sessions, it made sense for Jennifer to ask for her 'boss', or Reid as from what she'd learned, he was a very smart man. Garcia was a close friend, and Emily, though not on the team, was one of her friends as well. There was no surprise in her requests which made it all the more difficult. Jennifer wasn't going to accept this easily.

"Or David Rossi?" Dr. Genoe offered, watching the blonde's expression change from fear to hope and then relief.

"Yes! Is he here? Is that why you asked? This is all some misunderstanding. Maybe I was drugged, or... I don't know. I want this to be fixed so I can go back home to Will and my son."

Sandy's fingers twitched, as the now familiar feeling of heartbreak made itself known. A husband? A son? Where had her daughter come up with this reality? With these falsehoods? She felt all of her nerves standing on edge, and she stood up to take some deep breaths. There was nothing else she could do.

"Is this him?" Dr Genoe asked, handing JJ a novel with an author's picture on it. It had taken her awhile to try and figure out where she'd heard about these people... Whether they were real people she'd used in her elaborate reality, or whether they were all random.

"Yes! But, I don't recognize this book," JJ said, her brows wrinkling in confusion.

"You know all his books?"

"I've read them all, but not this one." JJ broke off to close the book and look at the back. "A fictional mystery novel? No, he writes... That's not what he... No, he doesn't write fictional young adult mysteries."

Ignoring her patient's obvious bewilderment at this, Dr. Genoe reached to grab something else. A newspaper article... "Is this your Penelope Garcia?"

Again, the recognition on JJ's face was enough to cause sobs in her mother, but once again, when JJ had looked over what was in front of her... "This isn't right." She quickly read it over again, as if hoping the article was now magically different.

Dr. Genoe was finally able to begin putting some things together. The article she'd shown her was about a computer hacker that had been caught and arrested by the FBI a year ago. This pattern continued as she showed the young woman an article about a Dr. Spencer Reid, well renown for his work and research on schizophrenia. And again when she showed JJ a lawyer website, with a picture of a lawyer by the name of Aaron Hotchner. Each time, the blonde grew more and more distressed, from the Chicago police officer, Derek Morgan to the old news report of a dead Emily Prentiss, a suspected Interpol agent. Though, the latter had never been confirmed.

Finally, Alex Blake, an FBI agent who lost her job in a case shortly after 9/11.

"This can't be right," JJ said, her entire voice trembling. "This. This isn't right." She held the article tightly clenched in her hand. As she glanced down at the now crumpled paper, her stomach turned. Her chin trembled in frustration, the water building up her eyes. She blinked them back. No, there was an explanation. Someone was playing a joke on her. Granted, it wasn't a funny joke, but still a joke...

Sighing, Dr. Genoe methodically set everything back on her desk. Even she, a trained psychiatrist, didn't know what to say. It'd taken her hours, using the information Jennifer had given her to find these people. But after she'd recognized the description of Dr. Spencer Reid and had realized he was real, she'd had to search. Luckily, she'd been right.

"Honey, look at me," Sandy said, coming back in the room. Having been so distracted, JJ hadn't noticed her mother had even left. "There's someone who would like to see you."

JJ shook her head. There was no one she wanted to see, unless it was someone on her team... Coming to tell her how wrong this all was. There... There was nothing she could say. In fact, she couldn't even get her voice to work.

"JJ?"

The voice shook her out of her mind, out of her distress. It'd been years, but that voice... Her head snapped up to see the woman enter. She'd aged. She was different. But everything was very much the same. From the blonde hair that echoed her own, to the sharp blue eyes...

"Ashley?" JJ choked out. "No. No. You're dead. You're... No. This. This isn't right."

"I think that's enough for today," the older looking doctor in the white coat said, his name tag identifying him as Dr. Gordon. "JJ, it's time to go back to your room." He frowned, he'd said it was a bad idea for Ashley to see JJ, but had gone along with the family's desperate request. And, unfortunately, he'd been proven right.

"No. You can't keep me here. I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy," JJ objected, jumping up to back from his grasp. Doubts began to surface in her mind, not about her team, no, she knew they existed. But Ashley... She was seeing things. She had to see Reid, she had to talk to him. Maybe he could help. He'd have some explanation she was sure.

"Don't touch me!" JJ screamed when the hand latched on her arm.

Her heart began to race, pounding in her chest, echoing much like the beating of drums in her ears. Her profiler instincts were noticing things, and she wasn't liking what she was seeing. The slight nod the doctor gave one of the workers gave her a sick feeling. She'd play along, she'd settle down. The worker's hand reaching for the syringe made her still immediately. "I'm sorry," she whispered, valiantly trying to control her breathing. "It's been a long day."

"I know," Dr. Gordon told her, his tone both sympathetic and calm. "But we just want to help you, Jennifer." He smiled at her, his kind, brown eyes watching her closely.

"That's all we want to do," Dr. Genoe agreed.

She nodded compliantly, but the instant the worker released her arm, she struck, right in the face. And out of the corner of her eye she saw him reach up to his nose where the blood was already spilling. Her breaths came out in little gasps, and she struggled to keep it under control.

The second worker made a move to grab her and she swung at him too, but her leg caught on the chair and she fell. Despite this, she wasn't slowed, though she did scratch her right arm when she reached for the desk, and the tickle that followed let her know she was bleeding. She'd worry about that after she got out of here.

She'd already kicked the other worker away before getting back on her feet. Then she felt it. It wasn't overly painful, just a small pinch. And even with her efforts to remove it, she knew it was too late. Already she felt the grogginess settling in. She looked over to see her sister holding her mother. Both of them looked at her with horror on their faces. There was hardly time to think, but the fear managed to grip her before everything went black.

***~ Fragile Illusions ~***

With a gasp, JJ opened her eyes. She reacted instantly, tumbling out of her bed. There was no doubt about it, she had to get away.

"JJ?" asked a familiar voice. "Are you alright?"

Soon enough, her eyes adjusted to the dark. Her bed. Her dresser. Her room. And that familiar accent. "Will?" Relief. It'd been a dream. That was all. It was just an awful dream. All the terror she'd felt, the worry about never seeing Henry or Will again... Her team... And then the shocking pain when she recalled her sister's presence... The familiar sound of her voice. The tears came, and she didn't make a move to get up.

"That must have been some dream." He leaned over to see where she'd fallen. "And that must have been some fall."

JJ looked at him in bemusement before following his eyes to a bleeding cut on her right arm.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for reading, and I hope this chapter hasn't been a disappointment.

There's still a lot to develop plot wise, but I'm very excited to continue!

I apologize if you don't like the JJ and Will pairing, but I'm trying to keep this as close to canon as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **_Thank you so much everyone! _

_I am honestly pleasantly surprised at the reviews, favourites and alerts this story has received. _

_A million thank yous! _

* * *

"JJ?"

She splashed a bit more water on her face before turning to face her concern friend. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You seem a little off," Garcia said, letting her voice trail off. "Is it about the case?"

It had been a rough last case. There had been toddlers abducted, raped and then dumped in ditches, rivers and trash bins. It had torn every team member apart, but JJ was a mother. Garcia watched her friend carefully, her eyes examining the blonde profiler's expression and response.

"I-I think so," JJ responded. It was true, the case had torn her apart but that wasn't all that was bothering her.

"I think Reid's pretty broken up too. In fact, I think he's being pretty hard on himself, blaming himself..."

"It wasn't his fault. He figured it out, none of us could have figured it out," JJ said, clearly objecting to the news that the young genius was distraught, thinking that this was somehow his fault. That he could have prevented it. "It's no one's fault but the monster who did this."

"I know," Garcia said, holding the door open for her friend to exit the bathroom. "I just wish he believed that."

***~ Fragile Illusions ~***

JJ examined her hands quite thoroughly. Another psychologist? Well, had the other one actually been real? And this one was addressing her as Agent. The other hadn't, but she supposed that was because the other one told her this wasn't real. That she wasn't an FBI Agent, nor had she helped save lives. She'd told her it was all in her head.

"Agent Jareau? I asked if you understood why you were here," Dr. Johnston inquired, glancing at the young Agent over her glasses.

This chair was much more comfy. The room was more welcoming from the colourful pictures to the squishy rug at her feet. "I'm here because we witnessed the death of a child," she said softly. Hotch had made her and Reid go see the bureau psychologist, she assumed it was because her and Reid had been the only ones present when the child had died. The rest of the team made it just after.

"That's correct," Dr. Johnston told her, scribbling something down in her notepad. But for some reason, this was a lot less aggravating than Dr. Genoe's note taking... "You have to understand, Agent, that it's normal to feel guilty, helpless even. And even scared."

"Why would I be scared?"

"You have a son of your own, do you not? It's normal to feel worried for what his experiences in this world will be."

JJ paused, glancing down at her hands again. That much was true. This job made her constantly afraid for Henry. However, she could not shake her focus. The thoughts kept coming in, and one name remained constant. Ashley. That dream, or whatever that had been, remained unsettling. It'd been easy enough to pin the scratch on her fall off the bed and not the event that took place in that nightmare. But, Ashley had been on her mind ever since.

"I think I could use a couple personal days." JJ looked up to meet Dr. Johnston's eyes. "To be with my son."

"Of course," Dr. Johnston replied, her eyes widening slightly in shock. She hadn't expected that, not at all. She'd expected to fight with the Agent. "I'll talk to Agent Hotchner."

"Then can I go?" A relief soared in her chest. This psychologist offered up Hotch's name. The other hadn't known anything about her, her job or her team. That wasn't the case here, not at all.

Dr. Johnston frowned. They hadn't even made it half way through the session. "Fine, but I'll see you when you get back."

"Right, thank you."

***~ Fragile Illusions ~***

_"What do you mean taking off for a couple days?" Will had asked her. _

_"I'm going to see my family."_

_"We'll come with you," he offered, trying to mask the frustration in his voice. "I've only met your mother the once."_

_"It'll only be a couple days," she'd responded, a small plea entering her voice. She didn't want him there, she needed to be alone and she certainly didn't want to fight._

_Will sighed. She was gone so often for work, and now she was disappearing on him again? "I understand," he forced out before rolling over to go to sleep. _

JJ rubbed her forehead. A slight headache intruded. She knew she'd upset him, but it had never been intentional. As she parked the car, she hesitated. This wasn't something she'd done for awhile, and it felt unfamiliar, strange. Letting out the breath she'd been holding, she tugged gently at her necklace. Her sister's necklace.

She wasn't even aware she'd been doing it, but soon enough she'd walked towards the grave. Kneeling down, she reached forward to touch the head stone.

"Hey Ash, it's been awhile."

JJ chewed down on her bottom lip as she reached back to grab the flowers.

"I still think about you every day, you know. I wonder if there was anything I could have done or said... To make you fight through whatever pain you were feeling." Swallowing the lump in her throat, JJ paused to take a few calming breaths. It'd taken years for her to let go of that guilt and the anger she felt at her sister, and even more to forgive herself and Ashley. Yet despite all the healing she'd done, it still hurt. It still stung.

Carefully, she laid the flowers out. The roses gave the grave a somewhat peaceful feel, and JJ leaned back again.

"I don't know what's going on. I think I might be losing my mind. I spoke to you yesterday, but not really. I-I don't know."

Though she'd willed herself not to cry, the tears came.

***~ Fragile Illusions ~***

"Jennifer, it's okay," the voice told her soothingly.

Struggling, she somehow opened her eyes only to squeeze them shut again. The bright light was both painful and blinding. But that voice...

"I visited your grave yesterday," JJ said calmly, before opening her eyes, again, not letting them adjust.

"No, Jennifer, you know that's not true," Ashley tried to explain.

"I did. And then I went to mom's house where I saw pictures of you above the fire place. But the funny thing is, there's none after your grade 11 year. No senior pictures, graduating pictures... Nothing. Because you never made it through high school."

"Jenny-"

"It's JJ."

"What?" Ashley asked, her brows wrinkling.

"No one calls me Jenny," JJ said, her voice beginning to tremble. Now that her eyes had adjusted, she was very well aware of the white room and the fact that she was strapped down onto a bed.

"They had to tie you down after your little episode yesterday," Ashley said, the pain in her voice not easily missed. "Mom couldn't stand to see you like this, so she went home to get some sleep."

"Yesterday? No. Yesterday, I told you, I went to visit your grave." Despite the fact she knew that her efforts would be futile, she tugged at the restraints.

"No, that's not real. That wasn't real. I'm still here." She reached forward to take her younger sister's hand. There was nothing she could do, and she felt helpless but maybe... Maybe she could offer some comfort.

"Don't touch me! You're dead." All calm had left JJ's voice, there was nothing there. Nothing to ground her, or comfort her.

Ashley pulled back, fell as though she'd been slapped. "Jennifer!" Ashley objected, the tears springing to her eyes. "Please, don't say that. I'm right here."

"I laid flowers on your grave," JJ said coldly. "You're not real, now please, leave me alone."

"I want to stay. I want to be here for you. I don't want to-"

"If you want to help me, then leave," JJ repeated.

Each word felt like a silent stab in her chest, and Ashley ran out, hoping to get out of there before the tears fell.

The quietness was overwhelming, and JJ could hear each beat of her heart. The difficulty she'd had being so cold to her sister... It hurt. But, she couldn't entertain these delusions. If she let herself accept her sister, and feel her touch... Hear her voice... Then she knew she was in for a bigger heartbreak. There was nothing she wanted more than to believe it, even for a second, to tell her how much she loved her. But the pain she'd feel when she had to let go again wasn't something she could stand to experience.

"I'm sorry, Ash," JJ whispered before leaning back to close her eyes. And she couldn't help but wonder what she'd see when she woke up.

* * *

_Thanks again for reading! _


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **_Currently, this story is first in the poll on my profile. _

_This is why this is the story being updated, despite the fact it was the most recently updated. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for checking it out. _

* * *

"JJ- honey?"

Her eyes flickered open. Immediately, she tested her movement. Nothing was holding her down. It was her mother's voice, she knew that before she'd examined her surroundings. But where was she? The lovely feeling of relief was immediate once she realized she was in her old bedroom, on her old bed. She paused. Perhaps she'd just been released? No. Whenever she was in the mental hospital, her mom addressed her as Jennifer. No one there called her JJ. It was as if that nickname had never existed. Her mom had called her JJ, not Jennifer. But then again, maybe she was saying 'JJ' because she figured that was best for her daughter. Unlikely, but possible... No. Her eyes caught sight of a picture of Henry and Will on the desk. That was all the confirmation she needed.

She was home. And suddenly, she missed them. Not like she hadn't before, but the desire to hold her son, and show Will how much she loved him...

"I made you some breakfast," Sandy said softly, sitting on the edge of her daughter's bed. She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly as she looked at daughter with increasing worry.

Seeing the concern in her mother's eyes, JJ sat up. "This," she said reaching to take a piece of bacon, "This is why I came home."

"For breakfast?" Sandy asked, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile.

"Not just breakfast," JJ said rudely through a mouthful of food. "Lunch. Dinner. Anything you make always tastes delicious. Henry thinks my mac N cheese is the best. Wait until he has some of yours." She knew she was rambling, but she didn't want to talk about it. About why she was really visiting.

"When do I get to see my grandson?"

"Soon. You should come for a visit," JJ suggested, reaching for a slice of toast.

"I just made that loaf of bread yesterday, I hope it's okay."

"Okay?" JJ mumbled as she attempted to swallow quickly. "Okay? It's delicious!"

"I'm glad. But why didn't you bring Henry with you? And JJ, I'd really like to get to know Will a bit more."

"Will had to work, and I didn't want to have Henry miss any school." JJ reached for the fork. Her mom did make the best omelettes.

"It's pre-school, JJ. I know you want him to learn and progress but I don't see the harm in him missing a couple days."

JJ ignored her mother. There was nothing she could say to make her understand. After a few moments silence, she spoke again. "I'll bring him by soon. I promise."

"You better."

Nodding, JJ caught sight of a picture that sent chills down her spine. Ashley's grade 11 picture was on her dresser. She'd always kept that picture of her sister there. But the striking resemblance... That woman in her dream... Was it a dream? What was going on? That woman in her dream was an older Ashley. And suddenly, despite the deliciousness before her, she couldn't eat. The plate went crashing to the floor as dizziness over came her. She was hardly aware of her mother calling out her name.

***~ Fragile Illusions ~***

"Jennifer!"

The voice alerted her, and she quickly opened her eyes. Bound. She was bound. A frightened whimper escaped her. No, she was in her bed! She was just there. This wasn't right. Her eyes scanned the room as fast and efficiently as she could, taking in every little detail. Her mother's lips were moving but she couldn't hear her. All that stood out in the deafening silence was the powerful pounding of her heart.

The sight of the doctor alerted her. They were not putting her under, not again. Instantly, she became still. This was more difficult than she'd anticipated as she was having to ignore her fight or flight response. Pushing back human instincts was proving to be a great task, but she managed to slow her breathing and focus her eyes. She wasn't giving them an excuse to sedate her.

"That's better," the doctor said, walking over to her. "You've been pulling at these." She followed his gaze to her wrists, bruised and battered from fighting the restraints. "We'll take care of that."

"It's fine," JJ mumbled, avoiding his eyes. The heat in her cheeks was an indicator of her embarrassment. She was an FBI Agent. A profiler. She'd been in life or death situations and yet here she was, afraid of this? But she didn't understand. What was real, what wasn't. Why she was here... It was terrifying. It was paralyzing.

"You don't need to be afraid," Ashley murmured softly. Even with her vigorous scanning of the room, she hadn't seen her sister. Maybe that was by choice. And though JJ tried to ignore her, the second Ashley put her hand on her own... There was a feeling of calm. The gentle squeeze her older sister gave her caused her to let out the breath she'd been holding.

This was wrong. She was dead. Allowing herself to be calmed by this illusion was just going to hurt her in the long run. Yet, for some reason she didn't understand, she squeezed back.

***~ Fragile Illusions ~***

The darkness was soothing, calming in a way. There was no bright lights, no people. Nothing.

"She's in here."

She heard her mother's voice. But which version of her mother was it? The one who gave her breakfast in the morning or the one that sobbed due to her daughter's obvious insanity?

There was no restraints. Feeling safe, she opened her eyes to allow the darkness to escape. Though she felt like throwing up, and still a little dizzy... She felt relieved, and calm. However, this feeling of comfort was short lived as two paramedics ran into the room.

"I'm okay," she said straight away, hoping to avoid any strangers. She just wanted to be left alone, and call Will. It'd be nice to hear his voice and talk to Henry.

"Your mother said you had a seizure," one of the paramedics told her, a young male. He examined her curiously with his eyes.

"No. I-I just fainted."

"She said you lost consciousness and were convulsing. Just to be safe, we'd like to bring you to get checked out," said the other one with hints of grey in his hair.

Her jaw twitched and her frightened eyes caught her mothers, the relief evident in them. Relief that her daughter appeared to be okay. She couldn't make a big deal out of this. That would just involve more worrying on her mother's part.

_Take a deep breath, _she told herself focusing on keeping her heart rate steady. _Your mom is just concerned. You're not crazy. You'll be okay. _

"Just to get checked out?" she asked. "Will I have to stay over night?"

"Not if everything's okay. As I said, we just want to bring you in to get you checked over. That's all. We just want to make sure you're okay," the older paramedic told her, nodding his head.

"Okay," JJ said softly. "Okay."

* * *

_Thanks again for reading. I'll be sure to include some BAU team next chapter! :D Cause you know, they're awesome and we all love them. _

_I also apologize for the short chapter. I just felt, with stuff coming next, it should end here. _


End file.
